Out From the Rubble
by Chaser
Summary: I can't say much. Hermione goes to New York---on September 11, 2001. This is dedicated to all those who lost their lives in the national tragedy. Please read this, so that the people may be comemorated for this horrible incident


Out From the Rubble

Out From the Rubble 

A/N: I can't say much—It'd give the story away. Hermione Granger takes a trip to New York—On September 11, 2001.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hermione Granger gazed up towards the top of the Twin Towers, in New York City. Her, Harry, and Ron had decided as a gift to them selves for graduating from Hogwarts with flying colors, to take a trip to America. Hermione had decided to separate herself from Harry and Ron (Who had gone to a restaurant downtown), and was going to look at the beauty of the Twin Towers.

"Wow" Whispered Hermione, gazing skyward. 

She eagerly took out her camera and snapped three or four pictures. Then she hastily shoved her camera in her purse, and walked inside the building. (A/N: I have never been inside the Twin Towers, much to my regret, so I have to make a few things up)

"Hello!" Said a blonde haired lady, as Hermione stepped inside.

"Hello" Hermione replied. It almost felt awkward to talk to muggles (Other than her family). Hermione felt quite superior to the lady.

"Did you know that the Twin Towers have 110 floors?" Asked the lady. Hermione's superior feeling drooped. Okay, _that_, she didn't know.

"Why, no I didn't!" Said Hermione brightly smiling.

"Aw! What a cute accent!"

"I get told that all the time"

"Oh really? I wish I didn't have this New York accent. It sounds dumb [This is NOT my opinion, so don't be offended. I think New York accents are cool] I wish I had _your_ accent!" She gazed longingly at Hermione's mouth.

"Well, I'll be on now! Goodbye!" Said Hermione. This was a very dim-witted lady that she didn't feel like hanging around with.

"You sound like Anne Robinson when you say _G'bye_ like that!" The idiotic lady shouted after Hermione's retreating back.

Hermione sighed. She was going to go up the topmost floor, and felt it would be a long wait on the elevator. She couldn't apparate, even though she _did_ have her apparitioners license, as she was in a _highly_ muggle populated area. She trudged off towards a large set of elevators.

There was a huge line for the elevators heading for the top floors, so Hermione settled for midway, the 55th floor. The line here was lesser still, but there was still a small crowd. Then Hermione noticed a break in the line for the topmost floor, and dashed over to it.

"Yes!" Hermione half yelled. People looked at her. She felt a red blush coming up through her neckline.

"Sorry she mumbled. She then stepped on the elevator, heading for the 55th floor, not wanted to face the people that she had just been embarrassed from.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hermione had a rather vivid view of the skyline, as she peered through the glass windows of the 55th floor. She earlier found out that she was on the west side of the building. Hermione looked down at her watch. It was 8:20 a.m., and Harry and Ron were eating lunch. But then again, they had risen rather early that morning (Actually around four a.m.) and gulped down a small breakfast of cold cereal and canned tomatoes in the hotel they were staying at that morning. No wonder they were hungry. Hermione stared out the window once again. 

Suddenly Hermione felt a tingling fear-like feeling in her stomach. She looked down at her watch again. It was 8:28 a.m. The tense feeling filled her even more as she watched the seconds ticking off her watch. Her watch now read 8:29, on the 10th second.

Then Hermione felt a horrible rumbling beneath her. It was actually coming from above her, but she could feel it all through her body. A second later there was a spate of screams from above her. She felt the rumbling again. She decided that there must be an earthquake, and she dived under an employee's desk to seek cover. More screams ensued, and then the unimaginable happened. Hermione felt the floor falling, and she was falling with it! Down, down, down, down—until there was a deafening crash, and no more.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It was completely dark when Hermione opened her eyes. She quickly shut them again, as much dust fell into them.

"Whaa- What hap-p-p-pend? Hermione asked, choking on dust. Nobody responded. Hermione tried feebly to raise her arms, but found them pinned to her sides by metal. She writhed her hands hopelessly. 

_"There must be some sort of opening in here"_ Hermione thought, as she could breath quite easily. She tried to bend her knees, but found them also pinned down by plaster, metal, and other rubble. Then Hermione realized that she must still be under the desk—among other things. She could feel a tremendous weight bearing down on what most likely was the desk. She hoped and prayed that the desk was sturdy, and wouldn't break. Hermiones hand found something—a fleshy sinewy something.

_"Oh God, don't let it be a corpse" _Thought Hermione.

"H-hel-l-lo?" asked a feeble voice from somewhere on her left side.

"Y-yes?" Answered Hermione, trying hard not to choke on the settling dust. "C-can you tell m-me w-what happened?" Hermione asked. She realized that she could turn her head then. She twisted her head around to the left, where as it had been facing the right side, and looked at the same blonde lady that had met her at the entrance of the building that was no more.

"Y-yes, I can. An airplane hit the north side of the building, and you and I are probably the only survivors" Hermione screamed out loud, as well as inside her head. After she had finished screaming, she asked the lady was time it was. The woman lifted her wrist with much difficulty, and read that 12 minutes had gone by.

"So… What's your name?" The blonde lady asked.

"Hermione"

"That's pretty. Mine's Corrine"

"Hello Corrine. I have a secret to tell you. I haven't told anybody, and I figure I might as well tell you, as this may be the last few minutes, or hours of our lives"

"Please don't say anything like you're a lesbian or something like that" Corrine moaned.

"Oh no! The truth is—and Corrine, if we make it out then you have to promise me that you'll never tell a soul, well, I'm a witch" There. Hermione had broken a wizard law—She had told a muggle what she really was.

"So am I!" Said Corrine. "I went to the Academy for Witchcraft and Wizardry! Where did you go to school?" So, Corrine wasn't an air headed blonde bimbo.

"I went to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and I have a couple of friends here with me that are from Hodwarts too!" Wispered Hermione excitedly. Then, suddenly again, there was a deafening crash, and much rumbling.

"Oh my God!" Whispered Corrine. "That must be the other tower!" Then there was a huge thud, and all went black again.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hermione came to once again. She peeked over at Corrine, who was staring blankly at her.

"Hey, Corrine, you alive over there?" Hermione joked. Then she noticed that Corrine's eyes looked glassy and hollow. Hermione gasped. Corrine was _dead_! Hermione tore her eyes from the lifeless figure of her friend. She couldn't believe her friend was lying dead next to her. She now had a vague feeling of how Harry had felt when he looked at the dead Cedric in their fourth year. Hermione was terrified now, laying next to a corpse, with what must be a ton overhead, ready to crush her at any given time. Hermione tried hard not to look at Corrine. She had never actually _seen_ a dead person before. Of course she had been to funerals (_many_ whenever Lord Voldemort had taken over, before Dumbledore killed him), but seeing a dead person that hasn't been inspected by coroners, and all that was much different, much more frightening. And yet, Hermione somehow felt a peace next to Corrine's empty body. Like her spirit, not her ghost, but her _spirit_ was lying there next to her, giving her confidence. 

Hermione forced her knee up hard and—a hole broke though the plaster! A small ray of sunlight burst through the hole, and Hermione heard a voice yell "Over there, Dave! I just saw something move!" Hermione forced her knee up through the hole again, making it a bit wider.

"HELP!" She screamed. She then grabbed onto Corrine's wrist, and started kicking as hard as she could with her legs to break through the plaster. A moment later she felt her legs be held by someone.

"Hermione!" Yelled that someone. At first, startled, Hermione thought it might have been Corrine, but then realized that it was Ron Weasleys voice.

"RON! HELP!" Screamed Hermione. Some of the weight above her seemed to be subsiding. Hermione closed her eyes and waited. Suddenly a bright shaft of light hit her full in the face, and she realized that she could move her arms. She slowly opened her eyes, and blinked in the bright sunshine. Then she looked over at Corrine. She was exactly as Hermione had seen her last. Harry helped Hermione stumble out of her little lean-to. A worker with a hard hat on picked Corrine up out of the rubble. To Hermione, Ron, and Harry's horror, a large pole was stuck through her left shoulder blade—right though her heart.

"Oh…" Hermione moaned. It must have been slowly killing her, aver since she landed on it, and it took it's final toll when they had been unconscious. 

Harry and Ron each embraced her in a rib breaking hug after they had said a goodbye to Corrine, who had since been carried away in a black body bag. They stumbled out of the rubble, and into the street, where Hermione could have a look at what had almost killed her. Finally, she was out of the rubble.

Disclaimer: I own Corrine and Dave, and J.K owns everything else that has to do with Harry Potter.

Even though I did not have family or friends in the Twin Towers, I am still grieving for those that did. I am sincerely sorry for all of those that lost family and friends in this terrible tragedy. And I am happy for those lucky people who have family and friends that are finally out of the rubble.

_ _

_This was written for all of those lost_

_In the terrorist attack on_

_The Twin Towers_

_On_

_September 11, 2001_


End file.
